Life Received from Jesus, John 3:6-7
How do you receive life? Nicodemus came to Jesus during the night and simply stated, “Rabbi, we know you are from God…” and Christ gave the answer to life. Walter A. Maier, the first Speaker of The Lutheran Hour wrote, “To start your life again with blessing you must follow the clear-cut direction Jesus gives in John 3:6-7. “He tells Nicodemus, and us, ‘Ye must be born again. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, You must be born again.’”
Maier continues, “In this moment, the Savior is appealing to you personally and directly, as He once spoke to Nicodemus; and when He promises, “Behold, I make all things new” (see Revelation 21:5), offering you the beginning of a new life, don’t reject the mightiest blessing God can ever give you, but clasp your Savior tightly, lay your sins at the foot of His cross, pray the ancient plea for merciful renewal, and the holy angels in heaven will rejoice as you are reborn, Spirit-born, into everlasting blessedness. God grant you this radiant rebirth through Jesus, “the Way, the Truth, and the Life”! Amen.”
Question: Who was Nicodemus?
Answer: We know of Nicodemus in the Bible from the Gospel of John. In John 3:1, he is described as a Pharisee. The Phariseeswere a group of Jews who were fastidious in keeping the letter of the Law and often opposed Jesus throughout His ministry. Jesus often strongly denounced them for their legalism (see Matthew 23). John 3:1 also describes Nicodemus as a leader of the Jews. According to John 7:50–51, Nicodemus was a member of the Sanhedrin, which was the ruling body of the Jews. Each city could have a Sanhedrin, which functioned as the “lower courts.” Under Roman authority in the time of Christ, the Jewish nation was allowed a measure of self-rule, and the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem was the final court of appeals for matters regarding Jewish law and religion.
